Today’s heart disease experts believe the top heart disease risk factor for women is the metabolic syndrome.

The metabolic syndrome has five elements—hypertension, insulin resistance, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and obesity around the abdomen. Having even three of the five elements is highly dangerous. The metabolic syndrome triples the risk of a fatal heart attack and results in a 10 fold increase in a woman’s chances of developing diabetes.

The TM program has been shown to directly reduce four out of the five elements of the metabolic syndrome: hypertension, insulin resistance, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Click on the links for more specific information on the TM technique’s proven benefits in reducing these problems.

Dr. Gary Kaplan, a New York clinical neurophysiologist, states that there is evidence from a well-controlled scientific study published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006 that the Transcendental Meditation technique can reduce the components of metabolic syndrome, a major cause of poor health and premature death. Patients with metabolic syndrome are characteristically overweight, with high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and triglycerides, and low HDL (good) cholesterol.

Reduced Metabolic Syndrome/Pre-Diabetes through TM:

Paul-Labrador M., et al. Effects of randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation on components of the metabolic syndrome in subjects with coronary heart disease. Archives of Internal Medicine 166:1218-1224, 2006.